Internet Healing
03/13/06

The number of internet pharmacies seems to be growing daily. Junk email offering low cost pharmaceuticals fill our email inboxes. It seems low cost drugs are easily available to combat the skyrocketing cost of health care. This phenomenon  is affecting the veterinary field as well.

Aside from the obvious issues of product quality, prescription record keeping, appropriate dosing, and continuity of care, internet pharmacies may have a less obvious effect on the overall veterinary health system. Have you ever wondered why your vet has a fully stocked pharmacy and your family physician does not? One reason is that your Vet needs the profit center. Having a pharmacy profit center allows us to keep the cost of procedures lower. Comparable major medical or surgical procedures may be as little as one tenth the costs in a veterinary hospital as compared to a human hospital. The reasons for this large difference are numerous, but at least one is that veterinarians offer the lowest cost possible for major procedures in an effort to avoid “economic euthanasia”. If veterinarians loose the pharmacy as a reliable profit center over time, we will be forced to operate more like a human hospital.

On the other hand, we cannot blame our clients for trying to get the best deal. The ideal situation is where you and your vet are a united team with the same goal, to provide your pet with the most appropriate health care. I encourage pet owners to work with their veterinarian to find options that are appropriate for your pets and your budgets. In rare instances that may include an internet pharmacy. However, the amount saved is likely to be so small that it may not be worth the risks mentioned at the beginning of this article, not to mention the effect on the your pet health care “team”.